“All of these things we do without children, and suddenly we don't do them anymore, and it comes home to us in a real way, that it's very different to have the responsibility of a child.”

American writer and journalist of the late 20th century, Didion’s work is defined by its sharp, unflinching prose and exploration of cultural disorientation. She is best known for her essays on California’s shifting identity, her memoir *The Year of Magical Thinking* on grief, and her novel *Play It As It Lays*, which dissects existential detachment.